Software Engineer (Backend/Infra) at Argus Labs (Indonesia)

Argus Labs· Indonesia·15h ago

Role details

Work type

Remote

Employment

Full-Time

Job description

Develop and maintain the core game technology infrastructure that serves as the backend for our game worlds
Architect systems that allow games, marketplaces, and user-generated content/platforms to communicate and interoperate seamlessly
Work closely with game designers and other software engineers to ensure that our technology meets the needs of our games and players
Continuously improve and optimize the performance, reliability, and scalability of our infrastructure

Experienced as a software engineer, with a focus on distributed systems or backend.
Strong understanding of distributed systems principles and algorithms
Proficiency in Go with prior experience shipping production-grade code
Experience with container orchestration software (Docker, Kubernetes, etc.)
Excellent problem-solving and communication skills
Passion for games and game technology

Experience with game technology infrastructure development and/or game engine development
Proficiency in Rust
Experience leading an engineering team
Experience with blockchain core protocol engineering
Experience with Cosmos SDK

Culture: Crypto‑native and gaming‑veteran team working at the intersection of applied research and game design. Small, flat team (~13 people) with high ownership.
Remote/Hybrid: Fully remote‑friendly, especially for APAC and LATAM roles. US offices in San Francisco and Berkeley.
Notable perks: Opportunity to work on cutting‑edge distributed systems and blockchain gaming; influence the direction of the Internet of Games; global team with regular in‑person gatherings (e.g., APAC retreat in Indonesia).
Engineering culture: Emphasis on first‑principles reasoning, open‑source contributions (GitHub), and building both infrastructure and end‑user games.

One-liner: Argus Labs builds open, interoperable, and emergent massively multiplayer online games and the onchain infrastructure to power them.
Entity Type: Private (Seed stage, $10M total funding)
Headquarters: San Francisco, California, United States (with additional offices in Berkeley, CA and remote hubs in Indonesia)
Founded: 2022
Founders: Scott Sunarto (Founder & CEO)

Primary industry: Computer Games / Blockchain Gaming / Onchain Infrastructure
Target customers: B2B for game developers using the World Engine; B2C for players of their own games (e.g., Dark Frontier)
Mission statement: To build the Internet of Games – a future where games are open, interoperable, and shaped by emergent gameplay.

World Engine: A novel layer‑2 sharded rollup SDK that lets developers build horizontally scalable, fully onchain blockchain games while inheriting Ethereum’s security. EVM‑compatible, designed for computationally intensive games (not NFTs).
Dark Frontier: A fully onchain, zero‑knowledge space conquest MMORTS (Massively Multiplayer Online Real‑Time Strategy) game powered by the World Engine.
Research Lab: Internal R&D arm that builds novel infrastructure, primitives, and game economy designs.
Game Studio: Builds games on the World Engine stack to trailblaze the Internet of Games.
Game Publisher: Helps external studios building on the World Engine get from 0 to 1 with infrastructure, research, and growth support.

Valuation: Not publicly disclosed
Key Metric: Total Funding – $10M (Seed round, June 2023)
Notable Investors/Partners: Led by Haun Ventures (12 investors total)
Growth Signals:
- 13 employees (down ~21% YoY, but actively hiring across APAC, LATAM, and US)
- Open‑source GitHub presence with 15 repos (World Engine has 116 stars)
- Published first‑party game (Dark Frontier) and expanding publishing arm
- Distributed team across Indonesia, Canada, US, and Vietnam

First‑of‑its‑kind sharding architecture for onchain games, inspired by traditional MMO server architecture – horizontal scalability without sacrificing security.
EVM‑compatible – taps into the largest blockchain developer ecosystem (Ethereum tools, wallets, and developer talent).
“Games company, not a pick‑and‑shovel company” – they build real games (Dark Frontier) alongside infrastructure, ensuring dogfooding and market alignment.
Strong research‑driven culture – applies bleeding‑edge distributed systems research to practical game design.

Expand the World Engine ecosystem by attracting more game developers and publishers.
Continue developing Dark Frontier as a flagship onchain MMO.
Grow the publishing arm to help third‑party studios launch on their stack.
Hire senior talent across engineering, game development, and leadership (especially in APAC and LATAM regions).

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